Global Infrastructure Partners, a private equity fund dedicated to investing in global infrastructure assets, has opened an office in Hong Kong to serve as a base for the firm’s investment
Global Infrastructure Partners, a private equity fund dedicated to investing in global infrastructure assets, has opened an office in Hong Kong to serve as a base for the firm’s investment activities across Asia and appointed Mike Nikkel as a partner to spearhead its activities in the region.
Nikkel most recently headed the development and operation activities of OneEnergy, a joint venture between CLP Holdings and Mitsubishi and a leading independent power company doing business in Taiwan and south-east Asia.
‘GIP is committed to sourcing, executing and adding value to compelling infrastructure investment opportunities in Asia in close partnership with leading Asian investors and relevant government agencies,’ says Adebayo Ogunlesi, chairman and managing partner of Global Infrastructure Partners.
‘We are extremely pleased to have an executive of Mike Nikkel’s calibre and experience spearheading our efforts in this dynamic and rapidly evolving region. Mike comes to GIP with an exceptionally strong track record in acquisition, finance, development and asset management activities related to infrastructure investment assets and companies across Asia.’
Says Nikkel: ‘I am looking forward to the opportunity to leverage our founding investors’ resources, including GE’s unparalleled operational and technical expertise and Credit Suisse’s extensive financing and investment knowledge, together with my own experience and relationships. Our effort to build a full, experienced and knowledgeable team based in Hong Kong to support our activities throughout the region is already progressing well.’
Nikkel, 42 and a graduate in law from the University of Minnesota, first came to Asia in 1988. He has been involved in USD13bn in investments in 24 businesses across 14 countries and more than USD11bn in corporate, acquisition and project-level financings. At CLP Holdings between 2003 and 2006 and previously at AES Corporation from 1996, he managed China and Asian businesses producing USD400m of cumulative annual earnings from 25 investments.
Global Infrastructure Partners, a joint venture between Credit Suisse, GE Infrastructure, and AIG Financial Products, invests in infrastructure assets in OECD and select emerging market countries. The company, which also has offices in New York and London, targets investments in the energy, transport and water sectors including power generation and transmission, gas storage and pipelines, water assets, airports, air traffic control, ports, and railways.
